Since it's release I've kept coming back to play Skyrim so many times, I have stopped counting. And even though actually finishing the main quest is still on my todo list, I have never been left wanting for more. There is always a grand sense of adventure, and if you have not lived under a rock, or avoided the genre, this would be the game to start. This would be the only game on your lonley island paradise that you need.
I've really liked and enjoyed cooping this with my friend over on the Playstation and I got it again for my solo fun over here. But my friend and I -- on our first playthrough -- were a bit sad to find that, clearly, the game was supposed to be longer. And I mean that in the sense that factually has an unfinished plot. You not only might notice that it's going nowhere, it *is* going nowhere. It just ends before the climax, and there are a few bits in the locations you see that have gone unchecked. Like an ominous glowing portal that, for reasons unknown, just happily exists, but you cannot interact with it, and it never gets mentioned by anyone, nor does the plot ever make you go there. It's like the developers stopped working on the story halfway through, dropped everything, and moved on. The game itself is fine. The game is fun, if a bit grindy. Not THAT grindy as some others make it sound though. You can literally farm money and sleep in your bed and repeat the cycle as often as you want. It's not the most fun, that part, but it gets you money. Honestly, I can't in good consciousness say you should play the game, unless you want to farm stuff forever and ever. That you can do. Makes no sense but you can. So my friend and I, we had an alright experience overall, but it was pretty darn short.
I love games like this. And I want to get deeper into the game. Sadly, unlike the with the design philosophy of games such as Subnautica, almost nothing is intuitive. This is the kind of game where you wished that at least the Tutorial was made with the same passion. Once you're actually in the mechanics and understand how the game ticks, you will get amazing satisfaction out of it. But it is a long rocky road to that point. God knows I've re-attempted getting into this game many, many times, and just ... stopped walking. Again. And again. I WANT to love this game. But this is very difficult.
Here is a new CRPG I've been waiting to get my paws on, for a few years, and now that I've finally played it, I will smother it with the love it deserves! The TLDR is, that here you get a good story, quite interesting characters, in a presentation that is visually extremely appealing and stunningly detailed, when you are playing it from the perspective of a retro gamer, who lusts for what has been, and wants it to be transported into the here and now, but still recognise the family heritage of the graphics. Visually, we get a sort of 16bit look. The colour pallette of a C64, the graphical resolution of a high res Amiga game, and the pixel based special effects of semi modern shaders technology, or a rough approximation thereof, all carefully recreated with hand-crafted pixel art. Yes, it sort of looks like an EGA game, too. That bundled with what resembles the audio of an Adlib soundcard, really brings out the beautiful soundtrack that's also in this! Sure, you cannot pick General Midi or Roland, or Gravis Ultrasound, but you won't even want to, I promise. Beautiful music! CRT effects are optional but well made, even with screen curvature, if you miss the old glassy bulge. Difficulty, character creation and gameplay loop are a blend of really really old, really really easy to understand, and kinda sorta graphically represented in a more modern look, making it easier to put together in your head, than with the actual games of yesteryear. The story is definitely for adults. It's not kid friendly, there is quite a bit of swearing going on, and mature themes. Meaning, this is probably the campaign you and your friends would play, when you're already well into veteran terretory at your pen and paper table! It's less cutesy and on-the-nose than many other crpgs. The developer and all helping hands and artists have created something truly special that deserves to be recognised world-wide, an achievement that, if it were around in the 80s, would rival Ultima.
For now, all I can say is, I've started playing the game, and I've got a huge problem right from the get-go. It is not made obvious to the player when you move into hard or soft cover. It really feels like the enemi AI knows where you are from the get-go. There must be gaps in the walls, but the PLAYER does not know where these are and how to avoid them. I get constantly shot. THROUGH WALLS. At this point I really don't know what to do anymore. There is no point in having walls if they're basically not there. You cannot hide behind them at all. You cannot use them for cover. And this is the very first battle I encounter. What the deuce? I'll put a proper review later, but this game would benefit from making it clear to the player when they move about, if a wall actually does something, or not. The "shield" icon certainly didn't tell the truth, because I got short right away, standing there. So far, beautiful and sweet sounding game that I can't play properly.
The game has a shorter campaign than your typical Baldurs Gate, but it is very enjoyable, the combat is on the easy side, inventory management is a little simplified, but the story is great. And some of the the most amazing (and funny!) writing I have seen in forever. READ THE BOOKS you find in this game! They're well worth the time!
